$8 million project targets flooding in Ford Heights

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

A project to control flooding along Deer Creek in the far south suburb of Ford Heights was announced Wednesday at the village's municipal hall.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill), Cook County Board President John Stroger and village Mayor Saul Beck joined representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to discuss the $8 million project. It is designed to alleviate over-bank flooding that affects about 40 percent of the homes along the creek each spring, according to a statement from the village.

The annual spring flooding is "a painful ritual," said Jackson, who obtained $5 million in federal funds and lobbied county and state officials to add $3 million in local matching funds.

According to a statement from the Army Corps of Engineers, the project will include a reservoir, channel clearing and modifications, and ecosystem restoration. Construction will begin in 2003.